Higher education is the fastest-growing part of Somalia's education system. Before the state collapsed in 1991 the country had only one university, the public Somali National University in Mogadishu. Today there are well over a hundred higher-education institutions, almost all of them private or community-owned.

From one university to many

The Somali National University traces its roots to an institute set up in 1954, during the Italian trusteeship, and became the national university in 1969. It closed during the civil war, reopened in 2014 and now also runs regional campuses, including Abudwak in Galmudug and Badhan in Sanaag.

After 1991, universities were rebuilt by communities, the diaspora, Islamic organisations and business groups. Among the first were Mogadishu University (1997), Amoud University near Borama (which dates itself to 1997 and admitted its first students in 1998), the University of Hargeisa (founded in 1998, teaching from 2000), East Africa University in Bosaso (1999) and the forerunner of Puntland State University in Garowe (1999).

A 2013 survey by the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS) covered 44 institutions with 51,471 students; 34 of them had been founded between 2004 and 2012. In August 2026, the federal education ministry's permanent secretary said about 130 universities were registered.

Ownership and funding

Most universities are non-profit private institutions run by boards, foundations or umbrella organisations, and student fees are their main source of income. HIPS found in 2013 that none of the institutions surveyed in south-central Somalia received government subsidies, while most in Somaliland received subsidies worth 3–20% of their budgets and six of the nine surveyed in Puntland received 5–70%. The University of Hargeisa, the University of Burao and Amoud University were founded by local communities and the diaspora but are now treated as public institutions in Somaliland.

Regulation and accreditation

• Federal: for many years there was no national higher-education law or commission. A Higher Education Law passed in 2024 created the National Higher Education Commission, whose members were approved by the Council of Ministers in 2025. In August 2026 the commission opened national consultations on a policy, strategy, regulations and quality standards with up to 200 criteria, based on university self-assessment and verification visits.
• Somaliland: Somaliland's own Higher Education Commission oversees its universities. In 2021 it rejected a federal ministry announcement that recognised 41 universities, including some in Somaliland, saying the federal government had not evaluated any Somaliland university.
• Puntland: the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has a Higher Education Board.

Teaching and quality

Many universities teach mainly in English, while Arabic is common in Islamic studies and Sharia programmes. In 2013 HIPS found that social sciences, computer technology, health studies and business administration were the largest fields; only 28 of the 44 institutions had a library, and 11% of lecturers held a PhD. Many universities now also list faculties of medicine, engineering, agriculture and veterinary science.

Choosing a university

Students should check whether a university is registered with the relevant authority, whether its programmes are recognised by employers and for further study abroad, and whether its degrees are accepted in other administrations. The directory on this page lists institutions whose existence Warar could verify; inclusion is not an endorsement or a statement of accreditation.